My husband has a good Korean friend whose mother-in-law runs a restaurant in LA’s Korean Town. She always makes kimchi from scratch and he would always give us some. Whenever life gives us homemade kimchi, I make kimchi fried rice, which is easily one of the most delicious fried rice recipes ever.

Kimchi fried rice is one of the most popular Korean recipes and takes practically 15 minutes to prepare and calls for a few basic ingredients: kimchi, overnight steamed rice, and egg. If you like, you can add meat such as beef, chicken, spam, or bacon, but I like the plain kimchi fried rice. It is delicious as is, as like my favorite Chinese fried rice.

The egg is often cooked sunny side up and placed on top of the rice. For my food photography, I served it separately to let the kimchi fried rice shines through in the photos. (You can check out the complete gallery by clicking on the top picture above.)

Many Koreans make Kimchi fried rice whenever they need to use up the kimchi at home. To me, kimchi fried rice is one easy recipe that produces mouthwatering and satisfying result.

Method:

Heat up a wok with 1/4 tablespoon oil and cook the egg sunny side up. Dish out and set aside.

Add the remaining oil into the wok. Sauté the garlic and onion until aromatic. Add the kimchi and do a few quick stirs before adding the rice. Stir to combine well. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and scallion. Stir a few times to blend with the rice. Dish out and serve immediately with the egg on top of the rice.

Cook’s Note:

I like my Kimchi Fried Rice spicy with lots of kimchi. Cut down on the kimchi if you like a milder taste.